Kewanee, Bureau Valley earn championship game berths

Friday

Dec 28, 2012 at 10:57 PMDec 28, 2012 at 11:00 PM

Galva falls to Elmwood in title game of Princeville Holiday Tournament

Mike Landis

Marseilles Holiday TournamentKewanee 56, Putnam County 49 The top two seeds at the Marseilles tourney — Kewanee and St. Bede — advanced to the championship game with semifinal wins Friday night.The Boilers rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to top Putnam County 56-49, while St. Bede defeated Lexington 54-41. No. 1 Kewanee and No. 2 St. Bede meet for the tourney title Saturday night at 8.The Boilers used a 20-9 run in the second quarter to lead 32-22 at the half. The third quarter belonged to Putnam County as the defending tourney champs went on a 17-3 tear to take a 39-35 lead.Kewanee scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter, and was deadly from the free-throw line to preserve the win. The Boilers hit 15 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter, and 18 of 21 for the game.Putnam County went just 9 of 19 from the line.Freshman Donovan Oliver just continues to produce double-doubles for the Boilers with 20 points and 18 rebounds. Dayton Ince added 16 points and Ryan Hicks chipped in with 10.The Boilers advanced to the semifinals by taking care of Midland 67-51 Thursday night.Donovan Oliver led the Boilers with 15 points, followed by Dalton Nuding and Dayton Ince with 13 points each.

Warkins Cardinal ClassicWethersfield 65, Knoxville 61The Flying Geese finished pool play at 3-1 and will play in the third-place game Saturday at Erie with their win over the Blue Bullets Friday night.Wethersfield trailed 59-52 midway through the fourth quarter, but rattled off 12 straight points to escape with the victory.Trevor Lay and Matt Jenkins had 15 each to lead Wethersfield (11-2), while Kegan Jacobson chipped in with 14.Tyler Houston paced the Blue Bullets with 17 points.

Riverdale 53, Bureau Valley 41It wasn’t the Storm’s desired route to tonight’s championship game at Erie, but even with the loss to Three Rivers Conference rival Riverdale, BV gets a chance to play for the title.“It’s not about December, it’s about getting better every night,” said Storm head coach Jason Marquis. “We’re excited to still have a chance to play for the championship despite our poor performance tonight.”The Rams led 10-5 at the quarter, and opened the second frame with a 15-2 surge to open a 25-7 bulge. BV scored the final seven points of the quarter to pull within 25-14 at the half.BV continued to trim the deficit in the third quarter, moving to 37-31 going into the final eight minutes, but the Storm could get no closer than five down the stretch.“The sun will come up tomorrow and it’s going to be a good day,” said Marquis. “When that alarm clock goes off, we’re going to be excited to come back at 7:30 and try to redeem ourselves in a big game.”The Storm set the table for their title game berth with Thursday’s doubleheader sweep of Knoxville and West Carroll.Parker Neuhalfen scored 20 points to lead BV past the Blue Bullets 63-46. Hunter Klemme added 14 points, including four 3-pointers.In Thursday’s nightcap, the Storm blew away West Carroll 67-51. Brian Lange paced a balanced BV attack with 15 points. Klemme knocked down four more treys en route to 13 points and Neuhalfen chipped in with 11.

Also at Erie Friday...Stark County bowed out of the tournament at 0-4 in pool play with a 42-39 loss to Stockton.

Princeville Holiday TournamentElmwood 52, Galva 31Jake Soehn poured in 23 points and the Trojans limited Galva to just 11 second-half points to win the 85th edition of the Princeville tourney Friday night.Elmwood led 16-9 at the quarter and Galva trimmed the deficit to 23-20 at the half.Soehn drilled a pair of treys in the third quarter as the Trojans extended the lead to 33-27, and Elmwood put the game away with a 19-4 run in the final eight minutes.Reece Hoxworth was the lone Galva player in double figures with 10 points. The Wildcats drop to 10-2 with the loss.Henry defeated Brimfield 43-32 in the third-place game, DePue beat North Fulton 42-37 in the fifth-place game and Princeville thumped Lowpoint-Washburn 60-27 in the seventh-place game.

Eastland Holiday TournamentAnnawan 55, Pearl City 54Michael Smith made a free throw with no time left in regulation to give the Braves the win Friday at the Eastland tourney.Pearl City carried a 42-38 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Braves outscored PC 17-12 down the stretch for their second straight tourney win.Grant Baele led the Braves with 19 points, followed by Smith with 12.The Braves finished 1-2 in pool play with a 39-38 win over Amboy Thursday. Annawan meets Amboy again in Saturday’s fifth-place game at 4.